Nail-biting can damage your bite

February 10, 2009|By Julie Deardorff, Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO -- John Meyer, 37, recently learned the hard way that nail-biting doesn't just leave you with stubby, bloody fingertips. The Chicagoan's habit fractured -- and wore down -- his upper teeth so severely that he needed $15,000 worth of dental reconstruction.

"His teeth were scalloped in the shape of his nails to accommodate his nail-biting," says Meyer's dentist, Jeffrey Weller of Weller Aesthetic & Restorative Dental Care in Chicago, who explains this type of tooth damage is more common than people think.

Nail-biting stresses the front teeth, which are designed for cutting -- not chewing -- and are not strong enough to be in constant use. (Teeth also are not designed to rip off clothing tags or open bottles, but that doesn't stop many of us.)

The problem can be even worse for those with braces, according to the Academy of General Dentistry. Braced teeth are already under pressure. Nail-biting increases the pressure and can damage the roots. If it progresses far enough, the affected teeth will fall out of the sockets.

Weller says a special mouth guard that must be taken out before you can bite your nails can act as a deterrent. So can veneers. When people bite their nails, the edges of the teeth get sharper over time. Veneers, however, may not have the same sharpness, which makes the whole experience more aggravating than stimulating.

Meyer's whopping bill was all he needed to stop. "My nails are perfect now," he says. "I don't go near them."